Wednesday, March 09, 2011

"So if you're looking for someone to lead the angry pitchfork mob, you've come to the wrong place. Until the NHL decides Bob McKenzie is right and gives Chara a token one-game suspension. Then we can go apeshit."

So I don't need to tell you that the NHL decided that it was even more of a pussy than Bob McKenzie. At least Bob thought Chara would get a couple of games. The NHL's wheel of justice landed on zero. Zero games. Zero fines. Zero condemnation of a sickening, sickening act. One that has left one of the brightest young stars the team has in a hospital bed, with a fractured C4 vertebrae and a severe concussion. PatCHes won't play again this year, and may never play again. He may never be the same person again. So before we go apeshit, let's once again remember what's important here - PatCHes. Please get well. We're hoping and praying for you.

On to the apeshit.

Actually, let's get to the legal lesson first. Bear with me here, it's important. Let's start with one of our resident lawyers, Panger, who wrote the following in an email to me and HF10, that was sent before the ruling came down:

I’m not sure that Zdeno should get away with that hit regardless of whether he “intended” to nearly kill him. Frankly, I doubt he intended to seriously hurt him. But the fact is that he’s 6’9, has been playing hockey his whole career, and ought to have known the potential danger to Patches. Isn’t the rationale behind the blind-side head shot rule to protect players when they are vulnerable? How much more vulnerable could Patches have been? But did Chara turn away? No, he clearly rubbed him out. He knew it; he didn’t care about the consequences. Reckless disregard. Maybe it’s not first degree murder, but it can still be murder if you’re reckless. He’ll get two games and someone will have to be killed on the ice for the NHL to start protecting its players.(emphasis added)

A criminal lawyer will tell you that you need to prove two things for a guilty finding - the "actus reus" and the "mens rea". The actus reus is the criminal act. I think we can all agree that Chara performed the act. Want proof? Here:

Mens rea literally translates to "guilty mind." The average non-lawyer person thinks that the guilty mind means intent. The NHL thinks it too. I walk into my girlfriend's house and put a bullet in her head because she was sleeping with my best friend (I'm the jealous type). I intended to pull that trigger. That's easy to understand. But intent is not the only mens rea. Depending on the crime and jurisdiction, you've got all sorts of other mens reas. Two of the most common? Recklessness and negligence. You get into a car drunk and kill a guy? Sure, you didn't intend to kill him, but damn fucking right by getting into a car and driving drunk you were reckless, and you are guilty. In Canada, if you are negligent and your actions cause someone's death, you are guilty of homicide (s. 222(5)(b) of the Criminal Code). You never intended to kill someone, but you are still guilty of murder.

None of this means anything to the NHL "brain" trust. Most of whom, I imagine, are lawyers. But their ridiculous fascination with the phrase "intent to injure" has gone beyond the perverse. To the point where a 22-year old kid almost got killed with zero punishment to the person responsible.

Now Mike Murphy, NHL VP of hockey operations, is not a lawyer. But he's still a fuckface. Here's what he had to say: "I could not find any evidence to suggest that ... Chara targeted the head of his opponent". Right. No evidence. Exhibit A:

No contact to the head there! FuckMurphy continued: "with both players skating in the same direction and with Chara attempting to angle his opponent into the boards." Right. Just a normal check into the boards! When patCHes was nowhere near the fucking puck. Not to mention that if they were both skating in the same direction, Chara would have been staring right at the fucking stanchion. He would have known what he was about to do. FuckMurphy continued: "This hit resulted from a play that evolved and then happened very quickly." Of course, hockey is a slow game! But this play happened so fast who knows what happened! And one more: "I also took into consideration that Chara has not been involved in a
supplemental discipline incident during his 13-year NHL career." Well fuck me gently with a chainsaw. He's just a prince! And the next time he pulls some sort of shit, he still won't have been involved in a supplemental discipline incident. So no punishment then either! I personally have never been disciplined for chaining a stripper to a bed in my basement. So when I do that, no discipline for me!

My rage is no longer targeted at Chara, or the Bruins, or the violent state of the game that seems to excuse this kind of stupidity. My rage is directed squarely at the NHL, who have taken one of the most sickening things I've ever seen in my lifetime and turned it into a fucking joke, just a normal hockey play. I am fucking pissed. I know you are too. What do we do? I don't know. CJAD has started a Facebook group that wants "justice" for PatCHes. Unfortunately, justice in this case seemed to have been lost in a wave of NHL stupidity. But we have to find a way to channel this anger. I'm open to suggestions. It's not just for justice, it's not just for revenge, it's not just for PatCHes. It's for the state of the game.

PatCHes himself said it best: "I'm not mad for myself, I'm mad because if other players see a hit like
that and think it's okay, they won't be suspended, then other players
will get hurt like I got hurt."

Let me preface this first by saying I follow the Avalanche first, and the Habs second. That said, Federal League crap like this is specifically why the NHL will never gain anything more then a toehold. There's no clarity of punishment. Chara gets nothing for an illegal hit with career-ending consequences; Wisniewski gets a two game suspension for a gesture. Any league where indicating your opponent should eat a bag of dicks is worse than fracturing someones' neck is a league that is simply not in touch with this plane of reality.

PS Get well soon patCHes.PPS Murphy can eat a bag of dicks.PPPS Bettman too.

I have been tossing and turning all night over this and I'm still not sure I know what I want done. Firstly I am dumbfounded that the league has taken no action whatsoever. They have justified what Chara did for every single player in the league. Patches said it best "I'm mad because if other players see a hit like that and think it's okay, they won't be suspended, then other players will get hurt like I got hurt."

How can that be right? I'm almost sick this is so bad for the game and for the Habs and obviously most of all, for Patches. The overriding thought I had last night was about the game on the 24th.

Chara must not play in that game. I would like to see the Habs, led by their captain, make a statement to the league that says if Chara plays on the 24th for the Bruins, then they will not take the ice. Take the fine, lose 2 points, who gives a shit. Their teammate may never play agin and nothing was done. Let the league have to refund all the fans because the game won't happen. Make a statement! That should move them to do something! BTW - Fuck you Bettman, Campbell and Murphy

It's amazing the response I'm seeing about the ruling, people angry, others bummed out and still others deeply concerned about the message this sends, many of these folks have teenagers playing hockey and sincerely don't want this kind of danger treated so lightly.

There should be no exceptions for headshots only then will the players police themselves.

I personally don't have anything to add to this issue it's all being said here and all around me.

I do not wish for revenge and certainly not for the unfortunate incident that finally forces the NHL's hand, let's just trash the PHucken' Broons next game for now that will be the best revenge.

in the absence of a functional justice system, turn to vigilantism. Bruins bus, molotov cocktails, no? Random chainsaw attack on Chara's ankles? These are the thoughts that ran through my head as I brushed my teeth last night.

I'm a combination of pissed and sickened and what really sucks is, like you suggested 10, I have no idea how best to channel that? Never buy another ticket to an NHL game? Murder Colin Campbell? What?

Hockey is a CONTACT sport...If a player cannot protect himself on the ice something bad can happen. Max needs to know where is on the ice, trying to ride the boards past arguably the strongest defenceman in the world right in front of the stantion will lead to disaster...much like crossing the blue line staring at the ice, or going full speed to the net and running into the net. Is Chara supposed to let him go by untouched? If chara was truly trying to hurt max, he would have put him completely over the boards.

Not so much as blame max, i think people have to look at the situation without any emotions, easy for me to say as a wild fan. it truly was a hockey play that happens dozens of times a game, d-man takes bad angle then rides out forward trying to beat him wide. i dont think there is really any blame but if you really needed to lay blame on someone it would be 50-50. if chara doesnt ride him out...max is fine. if max doesnt try and sneak by a immensely stronger player in front of the stantion...max is fine. any d-man makes the same call, as opposed to let the faster, extremely talented forward break loose.

truly an unfortunate turn of events, avoidable yes in the same sense that pucks to the face are avoidable if no one shoots the puck hard and no one tries to deflect the puck. if chara lets him go he is labled an inept defenseman. his job was to stop max from getting to the puck, and if you notice he didnt fully commit to pushing max in order to try and avoid the interference call.

I don't have much to add from my comments yesterday but watching the sports shows I noticed Geoff Molson in the crowd. I want to hear from our team's owner.

Something.

Doesn't even have to be directed at the NHL HQ.

Something.

Doesn't have to be about how fucking ugly the bruins play the game.

Something.

Doesn't have to be that the CH will make a public gesture on April 24th, maybe all wearing #67, maybe the first ever black Habs jersey, maybe one of those big fucking stop signs on the backs of their jerseys. Something to rile the monkey cage in Boston because you know the majority of those idiots will give chara a hero's welcome.

Something.

Doesn't have to be a million dollars but a large donation to head trauma/brain research in PatCHes name.

Something.

Doesn't have to table yet another new injury rule at the upcoming governors meeting but maybe take Mario Lemieux aside and have a heart to heart chat with well-positioned live streaming microphones purposefully recording.

Something.

Doesn't have to wait for the aforementioned meeting, just call cbc/hnic and suggest he and Mario (milbury can stay in is chair and represent Boston) would like the 1st period intermission for Saturday night's Habs/Pens game and host a panel, bring in cherry if you want or just let him do a feed for the rockemsockem crowd.

Still sickened over this. Totally dumbfounded that "intent to injure" is still in use. How about REALITY! Want some? PatCHes is done, for the season, likely for a great number of years.... thats reality. I have talked about this alot over the last 24hrs. phucking phlyers fans are even saying something should be done. A cousin that NEVER agrees with me thinks it was a travesty apeboy got nothing.

I am beyond angry, just so very saddened.... and @anon (7:26) go play in traffic.

This is WAY WAY outside the box but it could work - if they want it to - Habs players take a stand on 24 March. If Chara is in the B's lineup, they (the Habs) don't take to the ice. Use H&S grounds or whatever reason - just don't take to the ice if Chara is playing. One ganme only to make a point - it would cost NHL and Boston a ton of money - the players would get fined but they can afford it for one game. The habs would lose 2 points but who cares - they are making a point. That is the only thing I can think of that makes any sense to me right now. Anyone think they'd have the guts to do it? For PatCHes...

Think they'd have the guts?...well yes I think they would be quite receptive to the idea of not having to play the bruins. There's only so many times they can turtle and back away from a fight. At least the b's don't call up goons to fight, their regular roster players can play as well as defend themselves. I wonder if pach thought about the repurcussions for provoking a bigger tougher and more talented opponent. Have at it habs fans, do what you do best...CRY!

Well fuck me gently, so ... it was the Stanchions fault. Cause you know, that Beaner fucktard was just doing his job, and oh no he is just a fucking fairy princess with a bright shiny halo over his ugly head and has never ever done anything bad or evil. I'm sorry this just makes me sick. Sick because now we have to do something to even this mess up. The league has obviously, due to their lack of action, sent us a message that revenge shall be ours to administer as we see fit... This is not going to be good at all, not at all.

@ANON 7:26, your thinking would make it legal to rape anyone with a vagina.

@Kmaxx, I was thinking exactly the same thing. Forfeit the game, why risk losing another player to those fucking goons. The whole team could get a sudden flu. Another way to do it is not move when the puck is dropped, and the goalie moves out of the net, do it for the full 60 Mins, let the Bruins score 400 goals, that would make Network News and show just what a fucking clown league the NHL is.

last night ruminating over the non-call (although it shoul dnot have taken us by surprise given the inactivity around Crosby's 2 head shots-leading-to-a-concussion), I wished I had hacker talent to fuck with the NHL website and to flood their 'justice' department's email with a unstoppable flow of shit.

I have also given the gesture thing a lot of thought. Other than finding a way to fuck up Bettman's new TV rights in the States deal, I don't think there is anything anyone can do.As much as I like Air Canada's stand, I don't think the NHL gives a fuck. Canada and it's hocley audience means fuck all to the NHL.

although I like the idea of the players taking a stand in Boston, reality dictates that it will never fucking happen.

to Anon @7:26 - may I point out that if Chara's size as a defender should have made Patches think twice about going around him 'near the benches', you could hire a bunch of gorillas or grizzlies and put them on the ice - it will be alot cheaper than Chara's millions

@steve...no, no it clearly does not. My point is max put himself into the vulnerable position in front of the stantion and chara rode him out like any dman would, except for a canadien of course who would incite the opposing player and refuse to fight like usual.

If I were Geoff Molson, I would have lost the family fortune decades ago, but lets say I am in control right now.

First thing I give Patches a ten year contract extension, if he cant play buy him out.

Second I do most of the things Moeman suggests, I speak out take the fine, you can not have the Refs in your back pocket, Colin Campbell must resign immediately, this recuse is bullshit. Headshots need to be the same as highstick, not the intent, the act.

Third, there is some kind of NHL rule that lets you sign people for a game, I go to Boston, to the neighbourhoods where the Town and the Fighter were filmed. I find the biggest baddest asses that can tie skates and sign 24 of them for the 24. When the puck drops they all take instigator penalties. They bring a knife, we bring a gun.

@beahabsfan...I don't know if you are looking for intelligent debate but yes, chara is extremely strong given his size/weight and a player(if he has any sense) should act accordingly when trying to squeeze by right in front of the stantion...as much as you hate him, the fact remains that he has quality skills offensively and defensively that justify spending the millions on him, unlike your theory of just dressing gorillas or grizzlies. I.e. ryan white

Why have Montreal police not layed charges, it has been done several times before in cases where severe injury is involved? Betuzzi was more clear cut but he was convicted of assault.

As for concrete actions, the one with the best chance of success is to email Queen Kennedy and tell him not to allow Chara into Canada, he has the power to do it, has done it before to individuals for political reasons. With an election comming up a few thousand emails will speak for millions.

@ anon, the vast majority of the boons lineup are dressed gorrilas. Talented yes, I believe the FHF faithful can all agree that the talent and the oversized forheads are the strongest reasons for our collective ire. Just before apeboy did his best WWE impression I was thinking that something had gone wrong with the b's skate sharpner. As a collective the Habs were out hustling, out shooting, and flatout out playing the b's.

If you are the same anon that is trying to say that its PatCHes' fault for trying to out skate chara then you should take into account that what chara did was against the rules, he was interfering with Max. He admitted it, "I was trying to rub him out".

@ANON 7.26 - can I slightly move off topic for a second here and address the Ryan White issue. I thought it was reminiscent of '76 when the Habs put an end to the reign of the Broad Street Bullies. late 70's and early 80's are still hazy for me so apologies if I get names wrong but wasn't it Pierre Bouchard who beat 6 bells out of Dave Shultz as the Habs went on to win the fiorst of 4 cups in a row? After the last game, the Habs were prepared for the B's and their cheapshot bullshit. So when Boyfuck took a run at PFK (and missed mutherfucker!) Ryan White stepped up and pounded the shit out of him. The game was over right there! The B's had nothing left but the cheap shot bullshit antics of their "captain" and the Habs won handily. Have a think about that for a second - and Fuck you very much!

I am quite amused by the reaction coming out of montreal, completely typical. Kind of like when a canadiens player falls, trips, or gets cleanly checked...the entire bell centre stands, raises arms and sheds tears. Newsflash, other teams have had multiple players sustain injuries like this or even worse where there actually was foul play involved. When a canadien gets hurt on a clean play, it is a much different story.

Habs show up on March 24 in Boston. Wear a different jersey (maybe black with a bleu-blanc-rouge arm band with #67 on it). Show up for the game and when the puck drops, just let the bruins skate on their own and the players just line up at their bench and watch them skate. Habs cannot be fined, they showed up for the game did not declare forfeit. boston fans do not get their money's worth and will probably demand a refund, which I don't care if they get or not, even better if they do. We lose 2 points. I don't care at this point. The Habs organization will probably be fined. They can and SHOULD take the fine. Says thank you very much, hand the check over to the NHL...

The Toronto media has been entirely predictable. If the precious donunt boy was laying in the hospital Chara would be gone for the season and playoff, and every Toronto fuck knows that. This guy at the Post gets it.

@hadulf..ok you want a name? hows joe? bill? frank? if thats so important to you let me know what you would like.

@kmaxxx its 2011. Boychuk took his medicine like a hockey player who has honor would do. PK wants to be the agitator but will not drop the gloves i.e. lucic and horton. fine, but how can you defend that style of play? And yes the canadiens embaressed the b's in all facets of the game..outskated outshot and outscored.

@daddysays...yes, congrats it was interference. its a decision by the defenseman, either allow the player by to probably score or interfere and possibly get 2 min. its against the rules but it is strategy...weigh your options and in this case getting a 2 min. penalty outweighed letting him go on. theres a reason interference is a minor penalty

@ Anon: I said it yesterday and I'll say it again: Ryan White is no mere goon called up specifically to combat your asshole thugs. He's actually been up with the Habs for weeks due to injuries to other players (Mathieu Darche, in particular). If the Habs wanted to play classless goon hockey, they've got three guys down in Hamilton name Bonneau, Henry and Conboy they could have called up to wreck your fucking cheapshot artist's shit. But they didn't. They went with essentially their normal lineup and whipped you talentless thugs on the scoreboard - WHERE IT REALLY COUNTS. Now kindly fuck off and go back to lauding your idiot brawling cheapskate organization for clinging to an outdated 70's style of play that hasn't won you jack shit for 40 fucking years. Asshat.

[...]Campbell explained a two-game suspension to Alexander Ovechkin last year by saying, “If you cause a player to be injured, then you have to be responsible for the play that you’re involved in, if there’s any carelessness or recklessness in it.”

I'm glad that someone from the Habs organization finally said that they were disgusted by the fact the NHL didn't take any action against Chara; essentially saying what he did was within the rules and literally risking the neck of the next player in a similar situation.

I'm deeply saddened by the fact that it had to be the kid in his hospital bed who said it. I now believe that not only did the NHL fail him but so did the Canadiens as an organization. Is it too much to take the $10,000 fine from the league to speak out against the decision?

Would it have made a difference? Not to anyone other than Max.

There's so much more that could be said but it all comes down to this. Pierre Gauthier, Pierre Boivin, Geoff Molson; you should all be ashamed of yourselves.

Who knows if anyone out there will even read this. Maybe someone (hopefully someone) already posted similar sentiments. I just feel that we have to find a way of letting both the NHL and the Habs know that they've failed every player in this league.

I have been away for quite some time. As you may recall i divorced missus CH near the end of the 2010 2011 regular season. I have come by FHF on a regular basis but have chosen not to make any comments as this blog by far has some of the nets best and more intelligent hockey commentators and observers; and most of what i think or feel as it relates to hockey pretty much gets covered very well here.

Unfortunately the event of tuesday night has pushed me out of my divorced depression. I want to speak to something about this incident from a different angle. Lets clarify something off the get-go. Chara did what he did, he is responsible (intent, negligence, etc etc...) if this was real life his action would be punishable by the law and he would need a fucking great set of lawyers to keep his hairy ass out of prison. But of course the NHL is not real life... it is, ''make believe'' just ask the midget who runs it. The thing i want to talk about however is not how the fucktards and the little midget dictator are handling (or didn't handle) the event. I want to talk about our...yes i said it...'OUR' responsibility in what has become of this once great game.

For any fan to say that we are not in some large portion responsible for the state of the game is simply closing its eyes exactly the way Murphy and his band of ass bandits did. Go on you tube and see how many visits fights, crushing hits (legal and otherwise) get. They get millions. We love that part of the game we have made it what it is. We eat that shit up faster then a quarter pounder after a night of heavy drinking. Incredibly now though when faced with the prospect of some young kid losing his career we all throw are arms up as if were surprised, stunned, outraged by what has become of our sport.

The NHL does not give a rats ass about its players, the NHLPA doesn't give a rats ass about its players, The Board of governors don't give a rats ass about the players, not the Owners, agants nor the GM's. You see it isn't about them it's about 'US' and about how much we watch but more importantly how much we spend. Its about ratings, ticket and merchandise sales and TV deals. About how much we ultimately generate back into everyone of their greedy pockets. Its about talking heads who have no real opinion or position but only on what furthers their employment, and earnings opportunities.

Until 'WE' change and we demand a different package, a different product were simply going to end back here sometime in the near future talking about why it came to the death of some player to get the league to change. Until that time all real fans should be ashamed.

The no intent ruling is especially galling. Chara had been trying to "get" Pacioretty for three games. The Bruins as a team had been "sending messages" to us all season, culminating in the goon show of the previous game.

In my opinion what is needed is a Tunisia/Egypt style public protest. I'm even willing to go Libyan rebels on these jerks. The people's voice can be very loud.

@ Steve:Actually, Gomez made it quite clear that he and others were pissed about the decision.

@ Anon: well, the Habs have had their worst run in franchise history, so yeah, it's been a while since they won a Cup. Touche. First thing you've said that was even close to sensible.

Of course, Montreal has won 7 Cups since Boston last won one. In fact, FIFTEEN different teams have won since Boston last gooned it's way to a title. Bravo. You're essentially cheering for a more dirty, cheaper, less popular Leafs. Bravo.

@habsfan10...yes, most hockey fans know who won the cup and when. clearly you read your history books every night...however most normal people live in the present (how'd the last playoff series between these two pan out?)...so keep living in the past and we'll give you a shout when we need an answer to a question trivia night down at the pub

And Boston has by far the ugliest original 6 uniform, and is right at the bottom of the current NHL, and Boston has more players who dont deserve to be there in the Hall of Fame than any team in sports history.

@steve...yes the canadiens have a great history, great hall of famers yada yada yada, which should be expected from a city that eats sleeps and breathes hockey...and used to be able to keep their players in quebec. the bruins are a great organization with great hall of famers as well while still competing with the most successful basketball team ever, a football team revered by the whole northeast usa and a baseball team you may have heard of...i thought we were talking about this season but you and habsfan10 can get out the encyclopedias and quiz each other on history of hockey.

@anon first quit stealing my name and making me look bad you fucking dolt. Second if you don't want to live in the past lets live in the future where our Habs are up 4 games to 1 in this years CURRENT series. So you can go fuck your history books. Third Luccic being the pussy that he is refused to fight Laroque on multiple occasions as did many of your fucking boohooins. But when our guys realize they wont win a fight and decline they are pussies? How about you quit labeling us Habs fans as crybaby pussies when your team is capable of the same thing. Congrats you can beat us in a fight we all agree your team can whoop ours in a fight. This isn't boxing it is hockey and we can handle ourselves when it comes to that. Now kindly go find your crack whore mother in that dirty boston alley and remove the cock from her mouth. Thanks.

congrats on your 4-1 series lead, we're all set with the other thing called the standings. lets end this lucic/laraque misconception. looch is a pussy and scared of laraque? hes fought tougher. looch was ordered not to fight; whats the point of sending a goal scorer out to fight a goon when you have thornton for that who did pretty damn well in that bout. chara also took on laraque. this all brings me to this question, you all talk about the thuggery of the b's when what purpose did laraque serve? its called hockey

@ Anon: We can talk about whatever season you want. Wanna talk about your choke artists blowing a 3-0 lead to the Flyers last year? Wanna talk about Montreal winning 9 of the last 10 games we've played? Wanna talk about you sweeping a dysfunctional Montreal team out of the playoffs in 2009? (I see you're willing to talk history as long as it's recent enough or your team is on top - convenient. I guess 2008 doesn't count. Wait, how far back is okay? 2004? 2002?) You set the parameters whereever you want, chief. By nearly every measure possible, the Canadiens are a more successful, respected, and better run franchise than the Bruins, from what happens on the ice to the rinks they've called home to the folks who buy the tickets and watch the games. Feel free to dispute that if you like. You'll be wrong.

And competition from the Celts, Red Sox and Pats hasn't kept the Bruins from being great. It's been a combination of cheap ownership, an outdated and unsuccessful allegiance to goon hockey, an unwillingness to strive to be the best and a fanbase that sits back and takes it because they're only killing time until pitchers and catchers report that's to blame. Pardon us if the team we like happened to spend the majority of its history trying to work at being more than merely fucking competent enough to score some extra playoff revenue. It's not really our fault the Habs have treated your fucking goons like red-headed stepchildren for the better part of 80 years.

You fucking anonymous fuckface, it only goes to show that a bruins fan is 'okay' with marc savard's concussion." ITS HOCKEY! " of all fan bases, bruins fans are expected to be more sensitive about this issue.

habsfan10...ya you guys are real classy, way to boo the national anthem and ya the b's got smoked by philly, but you guys took care of them right. and habsfan10 ya got me like i said you guys have a better history but you rely on the history. answer to your team being a punch of pussies first. "wahhh hes fighting spacek!" so get some players who can stand up for themselves unlike max and the rest of them

steve... wasnt bragging about anything just saying that the b's take a back seat to other sports teams in this area...unfortunately

Ginger man, its not an insult to gingers, its saying a bad person would treat gingers worse than blondes. As you know Anglo's have this Ginger racism based upon the fact the Scots and Irish are far superior.

@anon, there is a difference between fighting and hitting someone when they are on the deck. Not much of a fight when the other player isn't swinging back. If we went the route of getting "tough" players over players with more skill we would run the risk of being like the Bruins. And honestly I would rather lose the cup every year than be a goon squad with hooligan fans that obnoxiously troll other teams fan sights because they have little better to do. It sucked the American anthem was booed and that was embarrassing to say the least. Not much we can do about that other than apologize and try to sing it next time we are at games. That has nothing to do with the team. But once again you bring up the past only when it makes your argument sound better. Your team has no class, your head coach has a vendetta against a team that ousted him, and your fans are just as classless as any team in the league. Boston itself isn't known for its hospitality. Lets not throw stones my friend.

"whats the point of sending a goal scorer out to fight a goon when you have thornton for that who did pretty damn well in that bout. chara also took on laraque. this all brings me to this question, you all talk about the thuggery of the b's when what purpose did laraque serve? its called hockey"

So it makes no sense for your sainted Gretzky-esque goal scorer Lucic to tangle with Laraque, but our 37 year old defenceman should answer the bell against your fucking goons at the end of a game? You tell us to get some players who can fight, and when Gainey did so, your big tough Lucic ran? Tell us to have guys who can fight and not be pussies, but whine when Ryan White plays? Make up your fucking mind you dolt. You don't get it both ways. I'll give you Lucic didn't have to fight Laraque if you acknowledge it was bush league for Julien to send out thugs at the end of a game against guys like Spacek and Pyatt - deal?

Fuck, you just acknowledged Thorton is a goon like Laraque - so to turn your question back one more time - "what purpose did laraque [Thornton] serve? its called hockey"

@steve...yes, yet you still reference all these non-hockey things about boston, I'm glad to see you are interested in everything going on down here. Unfortunately we are too busy down here to notice what the hell you french freaks are up to besides crying like the eurotrash you are.

Why is this Beaner here ?He is as stupid as the goons he cheers for. Spring is coming and with it comes the anual ritual of sending that ragged ass team to the golf course. I love that smug feeling of satisfaction every time we eliminate them. It just feels right... ya baybee!

The only reason there are children in Boston is due to the fact over the years Canadians players have got fucking drunk on the only good thing in Boston Sam Addams, they can cover three heads at one time and fucking an average of 21 girls an hour it equals the number of children in Boston. The only time any guy from Boston ever got laid was the time they held that girl down on the pool table and raped her.

@habsfan10..first thornton is not a goon like laraque. he is a fighter who can play. no one is saying he's a superstar. he's a solid 4th liner on a very solid 4th line. lucic doesnt fight just to fight, he fights when theres a reason (ask komisarek about that). thornton handles that which he did with laraque...as for spacek and pyatt, if their going to go with the cheap shit like hacking and chirping they should at least stand up for themselves, krecji took his. if the canadiens want to agitate then great good for them sometimes it works but they need to be able to stand up for themselves.

@anon sorry it went over your head, and you started projecting. Montreal has the most beautiful girls in the world, you could take the top ten girls ever to be spawned by Canadian Hockey players while having their way with any Boston girl they wanted, and they would live like Nuns in Montreal cause they would not find a man interested to touch them.

My point is if Matt Damon wanted a sexual experience in Montreal, he would have to find a Boston fan.

Nice to see blob mackenzie find his balls and some decency last night. Funny how PatCHes! literally saves him some of his lost credibility but weird for tsn to say it was blob who has 'personalized' the matter by reading PatCHes' heartfelt, professional and even more humane words. All kudos should be directed to the young man in the hospital. I'd still love to hear from Bob Gainey on this matter.

@steve...you like to talk about canadian hockey players and matt damon getting laid huh? keep trying it will happen for you someday, then youll have your own stories to talk about...as for us guys from boston, we did pretty well for ourselves when we used to take advantage of the 18+ drinking age up there

@anon: look. we're passionate hockey fans and we fucking care about a player of ours who could have gotten killed. Him getting healthy is the only thing that's important right now. For us anyway. We're just really pissed that a) Chara will not be held accountable for reckless endangerment b) the NHL won't do anything about it just like they should have thrown the book at Matt Cooke for his hit on Savard, but didn't c) one of our players could have been killed!!! Call us pussies, eurotrash (stupid insult, by the way), whatever. I don't give a fuck. Your initial argument holds no water anyway. So, either make your arguments coherent or GTFO

@ anon 11.20... i assume you are talking savard and bergeron when you say b's fans should be more sensitive. savards hit was an elbow to the head, patrice was hit from behind illegally. we wanted cooke to be suspended and he wasnt, we wanted jones to get more than two or however many he got but he didnt. we lived with the decision and moved on. we didnt go batshit insane like habs fans, in which it was a legal play anyways.

@anon, Thornton can play and isn't like laraque? The most points he has scored in a season in the NHL up to this season is 11. This season he has 15 a record. Laraque has out scored him on a consistent basis and has scored more than 11 points 8 different times with three different teams. So maybe shut the fuck up? And shut the fuck up that Lucic was told not to fight, he wouldn't of done so anyways quit acting like you are privy to shit that is out of your scope.

Yeah, that Tommy Pyatt and Jaro Spacek really are noted cheap shot artists and yappers. They make Avery and Steve Ott look like angels. Jesus, grasp at another straw you fucking halfwit. Pyatt has seven penalty minutes in 50 games this year. SEVEN. He's a real shit disturber that one. Clearly needed to be put in his place. Obviously deserved to be repeatedly hit with a fucking weapon. And Spacek? Clearly the right thing to do was to keep hitting him after he was lying on the ice. Truly honourable stuff from your asshole brigade.

See, we're not pleased with the fact those fights happened, but you totally fail to grasp why. Not only did the Bruins target guys who they had no business targetting, they acted like cheapshot artists and continued hitting guys who were down on the ice or used a weapon. Do you understand why that's bullshit, or are you that fucking dense? No one here would have cried if White lost to Boychuk on Tuesday in a fair fight - but defending that classless shit and ragging Montreal for it is galactically stupid and crass.

Honestly, you need to fucking quit embarrassing yourself. You're making shit up as you go along and it's getting more and more sad, and you can't tell the difference between regular hockey incidents and bullshit goon tactics. Of course I shouldn't expect much from a fan of the team that lionizes a fucking idiot who went into the crowd and beat a man with a shoe, but just save yourself the trouble and SHUT THE FUCK UP.

@Anon what you got drunk and picked up a priest, cause the only sex you know is what started when you turned 4 and your priest started diddling you, as well documented in that documentary about Boston the Departed.

@anon yes, I am referring to your post earlier in the morning. I think it's pretty clear that this post that you're commenting to already addressed your statement that "If chara was truly trying to hurt max, he would have put him completely over the boards". As shown in Exhibit A (the photo) and argued over the course of the post by 29. I'm no expert, but, I'm pretty sure that ramming someone's skull into solid metal/glass hurts a lot more than doing a little alley-oop into a player's lap.

Anyway, I know that there are sensible fans out there like a Mr. Christopher Lusignan, a Bruins fan, who commented in another blog here. He's cool. If only we could be more empathetic and compassionate like him.

Mr Natural your right, wrestle with a skunk and your going to smell like skunk, trade trash talk with a semi literate punk obviously psychological scared from years of getting and giving child abuse and you look like Mark Twain.

@habsfan10...Only a Montreal fan would call an elbow pad a weapon, my point is if the pests on that team dont stand up for themselves then someone else will get it. Look at max, he was real good with the slashing and gettin under peoples skin but he wouldnt back it up(not referring to the other night). its unfortunate that pyatt and spacek had to deal with it but thats for them to take up with their own guys or get off the ice. And just to be clear i feel the same way about marchand he plays the same style trying to get under peoples skin and cant back it up.As for boychuk and white, white kicked his ass, no complaints from this b's fan. They fought, white won, case closed, thats the way it should be. no complaining like "well this guy doesnt fight, or hes old, or well he shouldve fought this guy"

@ezzelohar: we shouldn't get rid of anons cuz then I am affected and I don't like that. This is the only blogger I go to and I don't want to register just to post a quick insult or outlandish remark. I will however sign off from here on out so to kind of meet you half way.

@caduceus...the photo does not show him ramming his head into the post/tantion or whatever, he cut him off and sent him against the boards unfortunately max went partially over the boards. only one person knows if chara had the intent of him hitting that stantion but max has to be aware of A. a 6'9" 260 "gorilla" approaching to cut his lane off to the puck and B. an immovable object ahead of him that he is quickly approaching. Clearly chara is going to ensure max does not get to that puck, did max think he was not going to make contact with him?

Maybe I shouldn't feed trolls - and really, I should be doing my Japanese homework - but all these Bruins' fans complaining about slashing and chirping, how come I never see any of that when I watch the game?

Is there video evidence to support this? Or is it all hearsay and reputation?

You know, this anon fucktard and his timing reminds me of that time Chuck The Fuck Heston showed up for his gun rally down the street from Colombine. You know just cause he gives more of a fuck about guns and killing people than he does about respect and honour and people with dead kids. So here we are seriously focused Hab fans sickened by the goon hit The Ape put on Max, and here he is chirping about how simply awesome everything is. It's just so atypical of a lowlife fucktard. Seize the moment to spit in somebodys face when they are vulnerable. Classic Beaner traits. At this point I have to agree with Steve that it's mother wears army boots. I'm done.

@iRiRi: I don't take offence to that The writer's just pandering to his audience and trying to get his five minutes of Twitter fame. Whatever the situation in life is, there'll always be some smart-ass with something "snarky" and "outrageous" to say in order to prove he/she are so different from the mainstream way of thinking.

If you want to see idiots talking, Puck Daddy's comments section is a good starting point.

Last but not least, I for one would like to see the Bruins win the President's Trophy and then get knocked out of the playoffs in the first round.

"Only a Montreal fan would consider an elbow pad a weapon"? Former Bruin coach Don Cherry is on record as saying that today's equipment is too hard and is used as a weapon too often. I have news for you, you fucking moron, ANYTHING can be used as a weapon if it's used to intentionally inflict damage on another human being. Campbell kept hitting Pyatt when his rock hard elbow pad was over his hand. That's using it as a weapon, same as if he had used his stick or put on the foil. Are you so fucking unbelievably dumb, or such an absolute unyielding asshole that you can't comprehend simple fucking human decency? That's sad. All Campbell had to do is what hundreds of players have done hundreds of times - shake the pad off his hand. He didn't.

And now you blame nameless, faceless "other Habs who yap" for getting Spacek and Pyatt into fights? That slippery slope argument is the same one that leads to incidents where innocent people at a bar get shot or random women get beaten because some psychotic got dissed or turned down one too many times. Your argument basically boils down to "they shouldn't have been there so boo-hoo?" Good Lord, I pray you don't have kids. They'll either grow up even more twisted and moronic than you, or you'll disown them for getting knifed as an innocent bystander in a McDonalds. "Shouldn't have been there. Should know how to protect yourself." Bullshit. No player or person should need to be ready to throw down with some sort of fucking animal because somebody else might have chirped.

Anon, you sound like those fucking Westboro Baptist Church nutcases. Seriously, you have ZERO respect for the game and even less respect for the players. You want to see violence then go watch an MMA event. Leave us real hockey fans alone. The only two fucking teams to have had this style of play throughout NHL history are the Bruins and the Flyers. about 100 years of history has ONE of the original six play "tough" and out of today's 30 teams, only 2 play that way. So stop fucking preaching that is "real hockey" like it's fuckin gospel and let us grieve in peace would you? You want to argue come back at a later date, this is NOT the time to piss us off when we're worried about one of our players you fucking douche!

No wonder the people of Montreal are labeled as whiners and crybabies, a criminal investigation? Have the police nothing better to do with their time? I also wonder why no one stepped up after the "hit", unless you call what gomez did sticking up. If this is a player in any other city there would not be nearly as much crying and bitching .

Hey anon, who labels Montrealers as whiners? The Bruin fan who can't find Montreal on a map, or the Bruin fan who actually goes to Montreal but ends up throwing up on the street because they can't handle a bottle of Canadian beer?

@Flying toaster, dont forget about Teddy Green, and as 10 points out fucking Eddie Shore, fuck Boston, fucking stupid since 1776, just think if you had not been such assholes you might have a real country like Canada, were people care about each other, and we play hockey with fire and Ice, not stones and clubs. We have elan, you have fucking cementheads.

steve, your posts are just horrible. are you really going with the old "my country is better than yours!"...your talking about the usa and canada i think their both doing pretty well for themselves if you take a look at some other countries. Canada and the us are basically the same its not like some huge culture shock when you cross the border going north or south.

Really? You fucking crashed this blog for your own personal entertainment? That's like crashing a fucking funeral to insult the people grieving the dead and before leaving saying "Been fun salting your wounds, PEACE!"

You have no soul, don't fucking do this again. One of our players got injured and you find nothing else better to do with your fucking time than to jerk off to some tears? You sick fuck.

You know there is a cultural shock when you go to the Excited States. Where everybody is armed, where racism lives and the home of the uneducated. It's Beaners like that anon fucktard that typifies the basic differences. Habs fans are classy, good looking and fun to be with. We always put the seat down and all our women are hot and have big tits. Our dicks are bigger and so is our country. So piss off anon and don't come back you ugly, stupid little dicked Beaner.

It's funny that people don't see the idiocy of arguing 1) that Chara couldn't have had time know where he was to intentionally put Max's head into the stanchion and, at the same time 2) that Max needs to know where is is at all times so he doesn't get hurt. Really? As Aristotle said, a thing can't be white and black at the same time. So, unless your point is that nothing you say makes any sense, don't bother arguing at all.

It's a shame that the courts and politicians have to get involved now, but the NHL and the similarly-minded neanderthals who support Chara's recklessness have brought it on themselves.

I certainly don't wish for you to ever get a concussion. I wouldn't wish it on any of your children, should you ever have any. But I do hope that one day, you should meet someone who has one. Who can't bear the sound of any remotely loud noise. Who cannot cope with the smallest amount of light. Someone for whom getting out of bed is a chore, because their brain has been injured in a way no person should ever have to suffer.

Is it possible for a whole province to get brain damage from one hit? Keep bitching no one can hear you....as for max patches:like andy dufresne said "id like to think the last thing that went through (off) his head, besides the bullet(stantion) was 'the gorillas finally gonna get me for being a dirty bitch'"

@Ezelloharr...don't lace em up if you can't handle the repurcussions & yes I've had multiple concussions, none to this extent but you step up and deal w/ it, consequences of playing the game

I love how your all crying and want charas head on a platter (that might be too violent for you guys), but were you all calling for pacioretty to be suspended when he cheapshotted eaton? Were you weeping for eaton?

I've been following this blog for quite a while and was always happy to just be an outside observer. But this whole matter has gotten me really upset. I'm not actually from Montreal (but I'm a Habs fan because a)My father and b)I have fucking taste) so maybe I'm off in my assessment, but fans seem to be angry for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, they're angry at Chara. Whether he intended to hit Max, whether he should receive some kind of punishment isn't going to change that anger. They'll boo his ass every time he touches the puck in Montreal any time the two teams meet up again (possibly even for the rest of his career). That anger would still be there even if Chara had recieved ANY punishment or seemingly any reprimand.

Which brings me to what I see as the second issue: the league's response. Something terrible has happened. A guy is in the hospital right now, his hockey career in jeopardy and possibly even his life changed forever, and the league fell short. BIG TIME. Their response of "Thems the breaks. What are ya gonna do?" (and I'm paraphrasing here) is completely unbelievable. To not even make some token effort at addressing the issue is ridiculous. Say your going to look into it further. Consider addressing the larger issue at hand. Make some kind of donation to a rehabilitation program as a means to acknowledge the severity of the matter. Do anything, NHL! To simply say that it was only a "hockey play" gone wrong is an insult to any fan who likes seeing good hockey action, but would like to avoid seeing anyone actually die on the ice.

Now I'm not actually too worried about Chara. He'll get his somehow. I'm NOT advocating a player taking revenge on the ice or a Montrealer tracking him down with a baseball bat. But in order to fully digest the situation I have to believe that he'll be affected by this somehow. If reports are true that he's not a bad guy, I would hope that he'd at least be beating himself up over the hit. And with remarks like "I didn't know it was him that I hit," he's not endearing himself in the court of public opinion anyway. (Side rant: I can hardly believe he didn't know that it was Max he hit, but not even knowing that he was out on the ice?? Christ Almighty, I find that hard to fucking believe. Either he's a complete idiot or a fucking liar. Either way he shouldn't be out on playing either right now)

But the league's response, or lack thereof, is the most troubling matter of all.

PatCHes one thing to you you are a joke you playing style suck dick and so dont you..You sit there and cry and complain about what?Your own stupidity because thats exactly what it is you knew the dangers of playing in the NHL before you even got there so my advise to you is shut the fuck up and take it like the so-called man you claim to be!!!!!And if you dont ever make it back to the sport well then noone will shed a tear believe that because there are so many other better players than you i.e Chara so put your feet up in front of your t.v and watch what you'll never be able to do again..I watched that game you got injured in and it was def a routine play that is why Chara got no fine nor a suspension so to PatCHes and all the Habs and Habs fans STOP CRYING LIKE THE LITTLE PUSSIES YOU ALL ARE AND GET THE FUCK OVER IT!!!!!!!I SWEAR IT MUST BE A CANDIAN THING TO CRY LIKE LIL BITCHES!!!!!And yes this coming from an American whos watched this game for years and years not to mention hockey wouldnt be what it is today w/o us Americans...The only good thing to ever come out of Canada is hockey!!!

About Four Habs Fans

The Four(-ish) Habs Fans are four(-ish) Habs fans. Three are from Montreal, though one of those is now stuck in the middle of the Red Mile. The other somehow grew up a Habs fan in the middle of Ontario Cottage Country, and now lives in Hogtown. Some of them are lawyers, so they are opinionated, and may or may not be assholes.

HabsFan29 is a lifelong Montrealer who decided the Four Habs Fans' email exchanges about the Habs were just too stupidly amusing and occasionally intelligent not to share with the world. The 29 is for the greatest (only?) Goalie-lawyer-PM candidate ever. He would like his mom to know that his meth habit is overstated on this blog for comedic effect.

HabsFan4 paid tribute to one of the finest gentlemen to ever don a Canadiens sweater. His legacy as one of the pioneers of the Gangsta Rap movement has always been understated. His Jaro posts will be recalled fondly by all.

HabsFanForever33 aka Panger is a Montrealer in Exile currently residing mere blocks from the Red Mile, yet whose passion for all things Canadiens has only embiggened with distance. HFF33 worships at the altar of St. Patrick. Panger still gets chills recalling the moment he met the greatest goal-scorer of all time, The Rocket. HFF33 is a life-long Habs fan, except during the Houle-Tremblay Era, when Le Club de Hockey Canadiens was dead to Panger.

HabsFan10 grew up watching Le Demon Blond on Radio-Canada with his unilingual English Dad in a WASPy little town in Maple Leafs country, at least until the playoffs each year, when he got to hear Danny Gallivan and Dick Irvin because the Leafs played on opposite nights (if they made the playoffs at all). Rick Middleton and Cam Neely sometimes haunt his dreams. He thinks Thurso, Quebec should be declared a national historical site. If you aren't sure what the 10 in HF10 stands for, you're on the wrong site, buster.

All mind-bogglingly warped Photoshop work courtesy the warped mind of GoldenGirl11 a.k.a. LukeyNussbaum11. All stripperrific vision expressed by contributors through Photoshop are solely those of the individual writer and do not reflect the opinions of GG11, a card carrying feminist, although she's sure that they are the opinions of her four sons even if they don't care to admit it.

moeman born in l'Estie'd'Québec, was baptized Maurice because well his Mom, seeing his beautiful dark locks and glaring eyes knew he'd need a namesake, actually it was his Mon Oncle Yvon that CHristened his Habstism, deep in central Ontario no less. He took life's circuitous route and blessed his own son with the name Patrick in 1993. He also has a gorgeous daughter but she's a Sens fan, so, meh. moeman loves women, wine, song, women, Habs, his kids, women, iOS Apps, hockey blogging women and women. His other passion, he hates the leaf. He also loves women.